Jessica Lange has suggested she is ready to retire because she feels her career is “coming to an end”.
Jessica Lange has suggested she is ready to retire.
The 77-year-old actress admitted she feels her career is “coming to an end” and though she is attached to some projects that have yet to be filmed, she isn’t sure if they will ever happen.
Asked what she is still keen to tackle in her career, she told Rolling Stone magazine: “I actually feel like I’m coming to an end. Maybe it’s not a bad way to end, that last film being Long Day’s Journey Into Night and playing Mary Tyrone. There are a couple projects that have been in the works forever that may or may not happen. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem easy to get things made anymore. At least not the kind of films that interest me.”
The American Horror Story actress – who has won two Oscars, three Emmys and a Tony Award during her glittering career – feels lucky to have had so many “extraordinary” opportunities with her career over the years.
She said: “When I think of the directors I worked with: [Bob] Fosse, Bob Rafelson, Costa-Gavras, Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz. I [had] extraordinary opportunities working with great artists.
“And the actors I was working with! Dustin [Hoffman] and Kim [Stanley] and Jack [Nicholson]. We got to throw [Martin] Scorsese in there, too. It was an extraordinary run.”
Jessica reflected on how the industry has changed over the years and admitted she doesn’t think it has all been for the better.
She said: “I think what I assumed was it was always going to be that exciting and thrilling, and the work was always going to be on that calibre. But then, the business changes.
“When I started work, the cameraman would set up for the scene [and] the director would be standing right next to camera. You could be five feet from him, or even closer. There was a wonderful exchange of energy, this belief in each other, and this [willingness] to do better.
“Then, of course, video playback came in, and now it’s so, so removed. Oftentimes, you don’t even see the director on the set, which I think is very detrimental.”
The Long Day’s Journey Into Night star hopes she will be remembered in the years to come as an “honest actor”.
Discussing her legacy and how she wants to be remembered, she said: “For some good parts. For some good films. For being an honest actor.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky. I love acting, and I’ve had decades of being able to do it, which has been a joy for me.
“Difficult at times, balancing family and career and locations and dragging my kids here and there. But it all was a great adventure. I’m so grateful that [it] came my way.”
Jessica Lange suggests she is ready to retire from acting
